Goodwill, Spectrum License Transactions and Other Intangible Assets |
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| Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Goodwill, Spectrum License Transactions and Other Intangible Assets | Note 6 – Goodwill, Spectrum License Transactions and Other Intangible Assets Goodwill The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, are as follows:
Goodwill Impairment Assessment Certain non-financial assets, including goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets such as Spectrum licenses, are not required to be measured at fair value on a recurring basis and are reported at carrying value. However, these assets are required to be assessed for impairment when events or circumstances indicate that carrying value may not be recoverable, and at least annually for goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets. The nonrecurring measurements of the fair value of these assets, for which observable market information may be limited, are classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. In the event an impairment is required, the asset is adjusted to its estimated fair value using market-based assumptions, to the extent they are available, as well as other assumptions that may require significant judgment. For our annual assessment of the wireless reporting unit, we employed a qualitative approach. The fair value of the wireless reporting unit was estimated using a market approach, which is based on market capitalization. In addition to performing an assessment under the market approach we also considered any events or change in circumstances that occurred, noting no indication that the fair value of the wireless reporting unit may be below its carrying amount at December 31, 2023. Intangible Assets Identifiable Intangible Assets Acquired in the Shentel Acquisition We reacquired certain rights under the Management Agreement in connection with the acquisition of the Wireless Assets that provided us the ability to fully do business in Shentel’s former affiliate territories. We recognized an intangible asset for these reacquired rights at its fair value of $770 million as of July 1, 2021. The reacquired rights intangible asset is being amortized on a straight-line basis over a useful life of approximately nine years in line with the remaining term of the Management Agreement upon the acquisition of the Wireless Assets. Spectrum Licenses The following table summarizes our spectrum license activity for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021:
Spectrum Transactions In March 2021, the FCC announced that we were the winning bidder of 142 licenses in Auction 107 (C-band spectrum) for an aggregate purchase price of $9.3 billion. In January 2022, the FCC announced that we were the winning bidder of 199 licenses in Auction 110 (3.45 GHz spectrum) for an aggregate purchase price of $2.9 billion. In September 2022, the FCC announced that we were the winning bidder of 7,156 licenses in Auction 108 (2.5 GHz spectrum) for an aggregate price of $304 million. At inception of Auction 108 in June 2022, we deposited $65 million. We paid the FCC the remaining $239 million for the licenses won in the auction in September 2022. The aggregate cash payments made to the FCC are included in Other assets on our Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2023, and will remain there until the corresponding licenses are received. The timing of when the licenses will be issued will be determined by the FCC after all post-auction procedures have been completed, which has been delayed due to the suspension of auction authority to the FCC by Congress. In December 2023, Congress passed the 5G Spectrum Authority Licensing Enforcement (SALE) Act, which gives the FCC temporary authority to grant licenses from previous auctions. As a result, the Auction 108 licenses are expected to be issued in the first quarter of 2024. As of December 31, 2023, the activities that are necessary to get the 3.45 GHz and 2.5 GHz spectrum acquired pursuant to FCC Auctions 110 and 108, respectively, ready for its intended use have not begun; as such, capitalization of the interest associated with the costs of deploying these spectrum licenses has not begun. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we capitalized interest on the costs of our C-band spectrum licenses, acquired pursuant to FCC Auction 107, during the period that development activities occurred. License Purchase Agreements DISH Network Corporation On July 1, 2020, we and DISH Network Corporation (“DISH”) entered into a License Purchase Agreement (the “DISH License Purchase Agreement”) pursuant to which DISH agreed to purchase certain 800 MHz spectrum licenses for a total of approximately $3.6 billion. The closing of the sale of spectrum under the DISH License Purchase Agreement remains subject to FCC approval. On October 15, 2023, we and DISH entered into an amendment (the “LPA Amendment”) to the DISH License Purchase Agreement pursuant to which, among other things, the parties agreed that (1) DISH will pay us a $100 million non-refundable extension fee (in lieu of the approximately $72 million termination fee that had previously been agreed to), (2) the closing for the purchase of the spectrum licenses by DISH will occur no later than April 1, 2024, (3) if DISH has not purchased the spectrum licenses by such date for any reason (including failure to receive the required FCC approval prior to such date), then the DISH License Purchase Agreement will automatically terminate, and we will retain the $100 million extension fee, (4) if DISH does purchase the spectrum by April 1, 2024, the $100 million extension fee will be credited against the $3.6 billion purchase price, and (5) we are permitted to commence auction of the spectrum prior to April 1, 2024 at our discretion (and subject to DISH’s purchase right). The LPA Amendment was approved by the Court and became effective on October 23, 2023. On October 25, 2023, we received a payment of $100 million from DISH for the extension fee and recorded a corresponding liability within Other current liabilities on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. If DISH does not, by April 1, 2024, purchase the 800 MHz spectrum licenses, we are required, unless otherwise approved by the U.S. Department of Justice under the final judgment agreed to by us, Deutsche Telekom AG (“DT”), Sprint, SoftBank Group Corp. (“SoftBank”) and DISH with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which was approved by the Court on April 1, 2020, to offer the licenses for sale through an auction. If the specified minimum price of $3.6 billion is not met in the auction, we would be relieved of the obligation to sell the licenses. Channel 51 License Co LLC and LB License Co, LLC On August 8, 2022, we, Channel 51 License Co LLC and LB License Co, LLC (together with Channel 51 License Co LLC, the “Sellers”) entered into License Purchase Agreements pursuant to which we will acquire spectrum in the 600 MHz band from the Sellers in exchange for total cash consideration of $3.5 billion. The licenses will be acquired without any associated networks and are currently being utilized by us through exclusive leasing arrangements with the Sellers. On March 30, 2023, we and the Sellers entered into Amended and Restated License Purchase Agreements pursuant to which we and the Sellers agreed to separate the transaction into two tranches of licenses, with the closings on the acquisitions of certain licenses in Chicago, Dallas and New Orleans being deferred in order to potentially expedite the regulatory approval process for the remainder of the licenses. Subsequently, on August 25, 2023, we and the Sellers entered into Amendments No. 1 to the Amended and Restated License Purchase Agreements, which deferred the closings of certain additional licenses in Chicago and Dallas into the second closing tranche. Together, the licenses with closings deferred into the second closing tranche represent $1.1 billion of the aggregate $3.5 billion cash consideration. The licenses being acquired by us, and the total consideration being paid for the licenses, remains the same under the original License Purchase Agreements and subsequent amendments. The FCC approved the purchase of the first tranche on December 29, 2023, and we expect the closing of the first tranche to occur in the second quarter of 2024. We anticipate that the second closing (on the deferred licenses) will occur in late 2024 or early 2025. The parties have agreed that each of the closings will occur within 180 days after the receipt of the applicable required regulatory approvals, and payment of each portion of the aggregate $3.5 billion purchase price will occur no later than 40 days after the date of each respective closing. Comcast Corporation On September 12, 2023, we entered into a License Purchase Agreement with Comcast Corporation and its affiliate, Comcast OTR1, LLC (together with Comcast Corporation, “Comcast”), pursuant to which we will acquire spectrum in the 600 MHz band from Comcast in exchange for total cash consideration of between $1.2 billion and $3.3 billion, subject to an application for FCC approval. The licenses will be acquired without any associated networks. We anticipate the closing will occur in the first half of 2028. The final purchase price will be determined, in the aggregate and on a per license basis, based on the set of licenses subject to the License Purchase Agreement at the time the parties make required transfer filings with the FCC. Prior to the time of such filings, Comcast has the right to remove any or all of a certain specified subset of the licenses, totaling $2.1 billion (the “Optional Sale Licenses”), from the License Purchase Agreement. The removal of any Optional Sale Licenses would reduce the final purchase price by the assigned value of each such license, from the maximum purchase price of $3.3 billion. The licenses are subject to an exclusive leasing arrangement between us and Comcast entered into contemporaneously with the License Purchase Agreement. If Comcast elects to remove an Optional Sale License from the License Purchase Agreement, the associated lease for such Optional Sale License will terminate, but no sooner than two years from the date of the License Purchase Agreement (with us having a minimum period of time after any such termination to cease transmitting on such license’s associated spectrum). Impairment Assessment For our assessment of Spectrum license impairment, we employed a qualitative approach. No events or change in circumstances have occurred that indicate the fair value of the Spectrum licenses may be below its carrying amount at December 31, 2023. Other Intangible Assets The components of Other intangible assets were as follows:
Amortization expense for intangible assets subject to amortization was $888 million, $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The estimated aggregate future amortization expense for intangible assets subject to amortization is summarized below:
Substantially all of the estimated future amortization expense is associated with intangible assets acquired in the Merger and through our acquisitions of affiliates.
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